Alabama QB

The intel I’m getting is that freshman Jalen Hurts is really impressing people down in Tuscaloosa. It’s hard to see S starting a freshman, but Jalen is making quite a case for himself. In the scrimmage last Saturday, he completed a 50 yarder to Calvin Ridley and ran for 50 yards on a keeper. He sounds as good as Blake Sims. I’m hearing that S and the coaches want Blake Barnett to win the job, but if Hurts keeps this up, the QB selection will be very interesting for Kiff and S. Hurts sounds like the most talented one right now. Cooper Bateman is not out of the picture either. It would be unprecedented for S to start a true freshman at QB1 on opening day. S and Kiff could very well use both Barnett and Hurt against USC, and go with the hot hand, and let them battle it out early in the season like A.J. and Phillip Sims did in 2011 before A.J won the job and helped lead the Tide to back to back national championships in 2011 and 2012. That could very well be the strategy, but it’s a tough opener to try and do that. There is so much talent around the quarterback on the Crimson Tide offense that S and Kiff might try that. Alabama vs. USC @ AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas 7 PM CT/8 PM ET on ABC, Saturday, September 3rd. The opening weekend in college football is a major blockbuster. Will have a preview and prediction for all the games that weekend on Thursday, Sept. 1st. Missouri @ West Virginia, 11 AM CT/Noon ET on Fox Sports 1, LSU vs. Wisconsin @ Green Bay, Whisky @ 2:30 PM CT/3:30 PM ET on ABC,  UCLA @ A&M at College Station @ 2:30 PM CT/3:30 PM ET on CBS, Georgia vs North Carolina in Atlanta @ 4:30 PM CT/5:30 PM ET on ESPN are all on Saturday afternoon and evening along with a huge one on the Plains I’ll talk about below, and Ole Miss vs Florida State in Orlando on Monday, September 5th @ 7 PM CT/8 PM ET on ESPN. It starts off with Vanderbilt hosting South Carolina on Thursday, Sept. 1st at 7 PM CT/8 PM ET on ESPN.

Prediction for starting QB:

Blake Barnett starts and Jalen Hurts comes in if

Blake struggles

Auburn

With Gus and AU, Sean White and John Franklin III look like the two competing for the job. Jeremy seems a little behind them though he’s listed No.2 on the latest depth chart I’ve seen, so it’s still to be determined. Sean gives AU the better throwing option, while Franklin give the Tigers offense more of a run option and he can throw it some. Jeremy was super two years ago, but had major problems last year before being benched, but then came back and did well at the end of the season, so he’s in the picture. Awesome young man, so that means a lot, too. High character kid who’s a good leader. I’m pulling for Jeremy personally because I like him so much, but Gus and Rhett Lashlee will go with the triggerman who gives them the best shot at beating Clemson on September 3rd at 8 PM CT/9 PM ET on ESPN. Gus said he wants to name a starter sooner rather than later, and it’s a big decision for him because this is a critical year for Gus. He needs to show improvement from the last two years. There’s a lot of talent though running back is a little thinner as Jovon Robinson was kicked off the team. It looks to be Kerryon Johnson, who’s put on 16 pounds of muscle and weighs 211 now, as the starter, and  Kamryn Pettway a 6’0″, 240 pound bruiser, as his backup. Senior Damian Lewis and three talented freshmen will provide more depth. So it’s actually a pretty decent situation and Gus is probably relieved to have Robinson, a massive headache, off the team.. Johnson has super speed and with his added power can run between the tackles. Pettway can definitely do that. Gus’s defense looks pretty solid, so if the offense can get it done with whomever the quarterback is, the skilled players contributing heavily along with good offensive line play, and there is good talent there, this could be a solid season for the Tigers. They open with a major challenge in the Clemson Tigers at Jordan-Hare, Saturday, September 3rd, @ 8 PM CT/9 PM ET on ESPN. Should be a classic. It would be a tremendous victory for the Tigers if they could get it and really catapult them into the season. DeShaun Watson, Wayne Gallman and company will be a blockbuster challenge for the Tigers on September 3rd. 

Prediction for QB1 @ AU

White gets the start and Franklin or Jeremy comes in if

necessary

Saban: The Making of a Coach

Monte Burke did a terrific job with the S book and I’m just over halfway through with it. I’m a little behind getting to it, but really enjoying it now. There are some super anecdotes Burke tells, and one I just read last night about Terry and her role as the first lady of football at the University of Alabama. 

Burke writes that S relies on Terry for everything, and I mean everything, and she is the perfect wife for him. Burke told the story of the time S and Terry were driving around home in Fairmont, West Virginia when he was in his earlier years at Alabama, but had just won a national championship. Terry had an old boyfriend who was now running a gas station in Fairmont. When they drove by S said, “If you married that guy your husband would have owned a gas station.” Terry responded, “If I had married that guy he would have been the head coach at Alabama.” Pretty quick.

They have a great relationship, and there are super stories throughout the book. S was kind of upset because he called it an “unauthorized” piece, which I guess is true, but it’s very positive about him as a head coach, and says positive stuff about him as a person. There is some stuff not as positive, but it’s the life of a big time football coach. Highly recommend Saban The Making of A Coach, by Monte Burke if you haven’t read it already. 

P.J. Fleck

This 35 year old coach is really making his mark in college football at Western Michigan. He took his Broncos team to an 8-5 season last year and a 45-31 Bahamas Bowl victory over Middle Tennessee in which his team was highly impressive in victory. He’s becoming a hot commodity in college football. Talk about a guy who thinks outside the box, this is one guy who really does.

In an ESPN article on Monday, ESPN writer Adam Rittenberg waxed about Fleck’s unique methods for motivating his football team. Last year, walk on Trevor Sweeney fielded an onside kick in practice only to find scholarship papers wrapped around the football.

Recently, in fall camp, Fleck did it again. It started with Fleck running onto the field dressed out in pads and a helmet and challenging walk on linebacker Kasey Carson to an Oklahoma drill, where a running back and an offensive lineman take on a defensive player to see who wins the battle. Fleck took on Carson one on one and said if Carson tackled him, the players would get the night off with no meetings. The 5’11”, 206 Carson leveled Fleck, and that’s where things got interesting. Fleck directed his players to watch the  video board in Waldo Stadium where Sly Stallone appeared alongside Alec Gores, a successful Beverly Hills businessman who played for Western Michigan in 1973. Sly, said, “I haven’t played for any Broncos, but I got hit by a few. You have gotten a full ride scholarship!”

Carson’s teammates lifted him on their shoulders as the theme song to Rocky played. At the end on the video board, Stallone and Gores started rowing a boat. The motto Fleck brought into Western Michigan when he became head coach in 2013  was “Row the Boat.” It’s a motivational motto about being the best you can be in everything you do. The idea for giving Carson the scholarship spawned from a Fleck and Stallone meeting at Gores’s Super Bowl party last February. Fleck was out in Beverly Hills for the party and met Stallone, and Sly said to let him know what he could do to help the program. Fleck remembered it, got it set up with Gores and Sly, and that’s how it happened. I’m starting to feel like Paul Harvey today.

Mookie Betts

The 23 year old Boston Red Sox right fielder is tearing apart major league pitching right now, and that’s even an understatement. On Sunday against Zac Greinke and the Diamondbacks, Betts hit three homers, one out of Fenway Park, 425 feet, and added eight Ribeyes to go along with the three long ones. Last night against the Orioles, Betts hit two bombs and drove in five runs. Manager John Ferrell dropped Mookie to third in the order from hitting first and it’s paying major dividends. As former Alabama football and sports personality, the late Doug Layton used to say sarcastically, “That’s mind boggling!” I make light of it, but it really is. Mookie has hit 28 long ones and has 89 Ribeyes while hitting .315. On his second home run in the top of the eighth in a BoSox 5-3 victory over the Orioles, Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis “Eck” Eckersley, the Red Sox color commentator, said, “I don’t know what to say.” That describes what Betts is doing right now. He’s definitely the frontrunner for the AL MVP, while Daniel Murphy of the Nationals is the guy in the National League.

The Bosox, the Blue Jays and the Orioles have quite a division race going in the AL East. Toronto leads Boston and Baltimore by a game through 120 games for the Blue Jays, 118 for the BoSox and the Birds. There are 42 or so games left, so this is riveting right now. My man David Price from Vanderbilt University goes tonight versus the Orioles @ Camden Yards at 6 PM CT/7 PM ET on E-S-P-N.

Pro Tennis

There’s an excellent and highly relevant ATP tournament going on in professional tennis right now for both the men and the women. The Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati is taking place with all the big names for the most part playing except for a couple of blockbuster names . The relevance of this tournament is that it’s the final hard court tune up for most all of the players before the U.S. Open commences in just under two weeks, August 29th, @ Flushing Meadows, NY in the Big Apple. Three key players are missing though. Novak Djokovic, Serena and Roger Federer. Fed is on the shelf for the year with an injury, Djoker has an injury and had to withdraw, but hopes to be ready for the Open, and Serena has a shoulder injury, and is also had to withdraw, but she hopes to be ready for the Open. 

But there are quite a few big names playing. Andy Murray is playing the best tennis in the world and he’s the top seed. Stan Wrarinka is No.2, the resurgent Rafa Nadal is seeded third after having an excellent Olympic performance where he lost to the also resurgent Juan Martin del Potro in three hard fought sets. Rafa looks like he could be back. A victory here and he would be back. I love Jo-Wilfried Tsonga from France, too. I see him as a darkhorse. Jo Willie is one of the most exciting players on tour and took Murray to five sets in the quarters at Wimbledon. del Potro is not playing. 

The U.S. Open should be superb with Djoker (12 Grand Slams) going for his 13th Slam, and third U.S. Open, he won it last year and in 2011, Rafa (14 Grand Slams) going for his 15th Slam, and third U.S. Open title, he won the Open in 2010 and 2013, and Murray (3 Slams) going for his fourth Slam as he’s had a major breakthrough this year winning Wimbledon and the gold medal at Rio last weekend. Andy won the Open in 2012. So this is setting up for an epic in NYC at the end of this month and into September. The quarterfinals, semis and finals of the Western and Southern Open will be on ESPN2 Friday night through Sunday afternoon. 

Men’s Prediction:

In an upset, Rafa over Murray 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 7-5 (best 2 out of 3 sets)

On the women’s side, even without Serena, there is still Australian Open champion and Wimbledon finalist Angelique Kerber of Germany and super Romanian player Simona Halep, who hasn’t won a slam, but has been close numerous times and is knocking at the door. Also, 22 year old Garbine “Mugu” Muguruza of Spain is playing. Mugu won the French, knocking off Serena this year in an amazing display of tennis. Mugu kind of fell off at Wimbledon losing in the second round, but her talent is through the roof good. Serena, if she’s healthy, will be trying to reach 23 slams at the Open and break her tie with Steffi Graf for most Slams in history. She tied Steffi at 22 Slams with her straight set victory over Kerber at Wimbledon. These girls are getting a jump on Serena though as they are playing in Cincy this week. The women’s side will be televised by ESPN 2 also.

Prediction

Mugu over Kerber 6-4, 4-6, 7-5